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Improving gender equality in Bangladesh

Gender equality is an essential component for sustainable economic development, and empowering rural women is vital to enable poor people to improve their livelihoods and overcome poverty. IFAD is addressing gender inequalities and discrimination by focusing on areas which can empower women economically and socially, including access to land, water, education, training, markets and financial services.

Providing equal opportunities for employment

In Bangladesh, the IFAD supported Coastal Climate Resilient Infrastructure Project (CCRIP)introduced an approach called ‘Labour Contracting Society’ (LCS) that is gender responsive and focuses on poverty reduction. A Labour Contracting Society provides a way for women to improve their economic and social situation. The women’s wages, hours of work and benefits are equal to those of their male colleagues, and many invest their earnings in income generating activities.

The CCRIP targets extremely poor and disadvantaged people, mainly women, who have inadequate and often low-paying jobs, or live below subsistence level, to work with construction of project markets and roads. It has also selected poor women to be leaseholders of shops in the women section of the local market, and provided income generating activities trainings to LCSs members.

According to the field survey report and project progress report, so far a total of 5000 LCS members have engaged or are engaging in market and road construction work which generates short term employment for 538,710 work-days. Women participation in construction work stands at 78 per cent against a target of 80 per cent. In terms of leadership, the president and secretary positions in a LCS are designated for women, and at least two out of eleven Market Management Committees are led by women.

LCS members, men and women, have already showed increased self-confidence as a result of becoming LCS members. They earn an income that many of them could not generate before. In addition women specific sections within the market platforms, and women shops have motivated them to have a more active role in the markets and in voicing their views on community decisions.

Shova's story

Shova Rani is one of the project participants. After ending a bad marriage she was left with the responsibility of running the household consisting of her two younger sisters, mother and her daughter. Shova and her family had to live in their neighbor's house for a few months. She says: “I was not very happy because we were really stretching their hospitality, but there was nothing much I could do. Then I heard that the CCRIP was developing Chutukhar Hat (the local market) under a contract with the LCS group members and I began to hope that their help would bring relief from this pain.”

The LCS that Shova and her sisters took part in was contracted to develop the Chutukhar Hat Market, and this presented an opportunity for them to earn a steady income. With help from the Upazila administration, they got housing materials to make a shelter and they were able to move out from their neighbor's house. Shova says: “In the months of distress, my mother had forgotten how to laugh. The day when the profit of the contract work of the market development was distributed among the members of the LCS was the first day she laughed again after a long time.”

With the income Shova received she built a new permanent home. Shova and her sisters also received livelihoods training and are making a business plan. “We will buy a cow which my sister will tend, along with the vegetable garden she is planning. And I will do fish farming and duck rearing. I hope our situation will improve so much that we never have to beg for help, ever again," she says.

Written by: Members of the project team of the Coastal Climate Resilient Infrastructure Project (CCRIP), Bangladesh

Bangladeshi women have been struggling to establish their rights in family, society and in the state. Practically in the society and the implementation of law, women are still facing discrimination, exclusion and injustice and have negligible influence in decision making processes. Discriminatory laws and policies hinder formal equality and socio-political conditions prevent women from exercising their rights. Girls are often considered a burden, especially for poor households, where they are at risk of marriage at an early age and where the practice of dowries though illegal continues and is burdensome. Women are usually the last to eat at mealtimes and 30% of the women are chronically malnourished. Furthermore, violence against women makes women socially vulnerable and prevents them from fully participating in society. However, women’s opportunities and public participation in Bangladesh have changed significantly in recent decades. For example, www erecruitment bb org bd major progress has been made in closing the gender gap in school enrollments at both primary and secondary levels; girls currently outnumber boys’ enrollments. Many women are now members of the local government councils that have important responsibilities for rural and urban development. The rapid growth of the garment industry has provided a large number of formal sector bd jobs for women.

Breadcrumbs

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